The set-up: I won with Alabama last year and I think the Tide are going to roll again this season as well. This is the fourth straight year these teams have faced each other in the big game. Last year the Tide won 24-6. Clemson does come in off a nice 30-3 win over the Irish last Saturday, but the step up in competition on both sides of the ball will prove to be too much again for the Tigers again in my estimation. Clemson freshman QB Trevor Lawrence looked solid with 327 yards passing, three TD's and no INT's. The Tigers are no slouches defensively either, ranked fifth in allowing just 12.9 PPG. The Tide pulled away for a tougher than expected 45-34 win over Oklahoma last weekend. QB Tua Tagovailoa had 318 yards passing and four TD's. The Tide dominate on both sides of the ball though, ranked second with 47.7 PPG and 12th in yards allowed per game.

The pick: Take it for what you will as well, but Clemson is just 1-4 ATS this year in non-conference games, while Alabama is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 after falling to cover the spread in two of its last three games. This has and likely always will be a "bad matchup" for Clemson. Lay the points.

10* play